Two former national team players, Azeez Ladipo and Angulu Sulaiman, have been elected to serve on the board of the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation (NRFF).
Ladipo, the federation’s current General Manager, was returned unopposed as the athletes’ representative. In line with the NRFF constitution, he required a simple majority to confirm his seat and secured it with 16 votes out of 16.
In the technical representative category, Sulaiman, a former national team coach and player, polled 28 votes. His opponent, Ntiesse Williams, who had already stepped down prior to the polls, recorded just one vote.
Speaking after the elections, NRFF President, Dr. Ademola Are, praised the participants for their maturity and decorum while calling for unity in driving the game forward.
“We need peace for us to move rugby forward, and I cannot achieve it without your support,” Are said. “Our focus remains empowering women, creating an enabling environment for players, coaches, and instructors, and strengthening grassroots development by taking the game into schools while continuously upgrading the capacity of coaches and referees through training and seminars.”
In his acceptance remarks, Ladipo expressed gratitude to the athletes for their trust and pledged to deepen engagement with players. He emphasized the importance of introducing the sport more vigorously in schools.
Sulaiman, who emerged as technical representative, urged collective support in building the federation and commended Williams for his maturity, noting that collaboration with all stakeholders will be crucial to the growth of the sport.
The elections for zonal vice presidents and president of the NRFF are scheduled to be held next month.
